F1: Day Two of Barcelona Test Session, Force India Leads, Ferrari Struggles

Barcelona, Day Two — Red Bull Formula One driver Sebastian Vettel of Germany looks at a car in the pitlane during an F1 training session at Circuit de Catalunya racetrack, in Montmelo, near Barcelona, February 22, 2012. Reuters

Force India's Nico Hulkenberg was the surprise leader of the pack on the second day of the second multi-team test, ahead of the 2012 Formula 1 World Championship. The test session is being held at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain.

Red Bull Racing's Sebastian Vettel, who finished Day 1 on top of the pile could only manage third on Wednesday and worked primarily on set-up and simulating race distances. He ran a total of 104 laps. In another surprising result, Sauber's Sergio Perez slotted in between Hulkenberg and Vettel, despite suffering from an exhaust problem at the end of the day.

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso had a relatively better day, completing 87 laps and finishing fourth. He will hand the car over to team mate Felipe Massa on Thursday. McLaren's Lewis Hamilton was happy with his day, despite finishing sixth, saying he was pleased with the way the car handled high-speed turns.

Mercedes' Nico Rosberg had an unfortunate oil leak in his W03 in the afternoon session but did say the team managed to get some good information.

Testing continues on Thursday.

Unofficial Times from Wednesday's Session:

1. Nico Hulkenberg, Force India - 1:22.608 (112 laps)

2. Sergio Perez, Sauber - 1:22.648 (85 laps)

3. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull - 1:22.891 (104 Laps)

4. Fernando Alonso, Ferrari - 1:23.180 (87 laps)

5. Daniel Ricciardo, Toro Rosso - 1:23.659 (50 laps)

6. Lewis Hamilton, McLaren - 1:23.806 (120 laps)

7. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes - 1:24.555 (82 laps)

8. Valtteri Bottas, Williams - 1:25.738 (117 laps)

9. Vitaly Petrov, Caterham - 1:26.605 (69 laps)